Final Fantasy XIII - A Twist
by fantasy1213
Summary: . . . I never asked for this . . . No one asks for punishment like this . . . And frankly, I didn't do anything wrong . . . I will never forget going on that train - thinking my "hero" will save me - but instead . . . I became a part of something that will always be the toughest challenge I have ever faced . . .
1. Chapter 1

_. . . Vanille's Voiceover . . . _

It was about in hour in when I felt the first jolt. It was like the train made contact with something hard but it regained balance. I darted my eyes to the people around me. A couple people seemed to notice the jolt but most were sitting with their eyes closed, trying to think this was all just a dream. If only it was.

I focused again on my arm sleeves. This robe kept me from using my hands but if I could get my knife, I could cut myself out. All I needed was another jolt. A door opened – startling me for a second – and a soldier began walking down the aisle.

His presence gave me another idea. From the door he walked through, I could see a tiny window and a force field coming closer on the track.

I smiled and gave a small chuckle. The soldier heard me and turned, his gun pointed at my head.

"What's so funny?" He asked me.

I sighed. "Oh, it's nothing. I was just thinking . . . a strong soldier like you. It will just be sad when a little girl like me finishes you." I looked at him and before he could react, we had gone through the force field. I jumped up and kicked him in the head. The remote for the handcuffs got squashed under him so everyone's arms were free. I stood up straight and pulled off my robe. I grabbed my daggers and ran towards the door. I locked it and began helping others out of their robes. The adults grabbed guns from over them while the younger ones stayed with me.

I grabbed everyone's attention. "Ok! I got only a few seconds to talk so this is how it will go down. I can get you out of here but it is only one trip. Anyone who wants to stay and fight can but I must warn you, it's a hell of a ride." Almost all men stayed but the women with kids gathered around me. I grabbed some bands from my pouch and placed one on each of their wrists. I also gave an electronic map to one of the adults.

I looked at them. "Ok, so here's how this works. These bands have the power to get you to the top of this mountain. From there, you will have to walk to Lukir. You have a map and there, you can hop on the next train to go home. Now, grab each other hands and when I say jump, you jump. You will land on the side of this cliff. When you hit the rock, run up. Don't stop. You ready?" They all nod and grab hands.

I walk to the door and push it open. I saw the wall of rock coming ahead. The first person came to my side, ready to jump. Finally, at the last moment, I yelled, "Jump!" They did and I saw them safely run up the mountain. I turned to the others.

"Now, be ready, because you're about to meet hell." They nodded and I grabbed my robe from the ground. I began to walk away from them.

One man came to the front and asked me, "Wait! Where are you going?"

I turned to them. "I'm going find my brother. Sorry I can't be here with you." I put on the robe and open the door. I made it through the doorway before the train suddenly turned on its side. I reacted fast enough to not fall but I still was surprised. I grabbed a pole and held on to it tightly.

Suddenly, another thing exploded and a hole appeared above me. I grabbed the ledge and hoisted myself up so I could see what the hell was going on. I saw ships attacking the train. I looked back and saw part of the train was left behind, two people on top of it. I recognized one of them.

"Lightning?" I muttered. Before I could look further, I noticed something was fixed on me: another ship. It looked at me.

"Surrender now or die!" The pilot said over a speaker. I snickered and gave them the finger. I began to sprint down the side of the train (or what was left of it), missing bullets by inches. I dived down to a near platform. When I landed, I found many other victims standing around. Then I finally found him - Snow.

He was pretty busy talking to his friends. I crept up and hid behind some rubble, throwing on my robe. I watched them until they began to run towards another group a little way away. I followed them, keeping myself concealed.

When we finally reached the other group, I snuck around to the group and sat down next to another cloaked head. It was a girl, I think.

She whispered to me, "Are you scared?" I looked ov

I replied, "No, I'm never scared."

Snow gave them an inspirational speech, talking about NORA. I rolled my eyes. I knew what NORA was but that group seemed more like an idea than a real thing. He began to recruit people. That's when I noticed two people in front of me. It was a boy my age and his mom. I don't know why but that boy's voice so familiar but I couldn't put my finger on it. The mom decided to fight, leaving the boy. He seemed so sad and lost, like a lost puppy not sure what to do. I decided to keep an eye on him for now.

While people were getting guns, Snow was talking to his friends. He was looking up to the L'Cie domain.

"Who are you thinking about?" One friend asked, "Your sister?"

I listened closer. They were talking about me.

Snow looked confused and then he shook his head. "No. Why would I think about Dawn? She's not here." That made me take a step back. He wasn't here for me? I thought he was. He didn't even know I was only a few feet away.

Another smiled. "Ohh, so your fiancé."

Snow smiled a little. "Yeah, I'm going to save her." I stopped listening and walked away. I had never been so angry in my life. Snow always told me he had my back but ever since Serah came to the picture, he has completely ignored me.

_Whatever_, I thought, _I don't need him. I don't need anyone. _

I began to walk with the others to a safe transporter. It was used to move large objects but it was able to house all of us easily. I sat on what used to be a wing of a ship and tried to control my feelings. If I get too mad, there's no way I can get out of here easily. I decided to focus my attention on the boy. He was still in his robe but I could feel his worry. That's something I'm good at. I can read people like that.

It seemed like minutes later when it happened. At this point, I moved away from the wing and watched the people fight, no more than twenty feet from the boy. That girl who I was sitting next to earlier was also there.

We all watched in horror when we saw the bridge collapse, everyone in our group was gone.

Including the boy's mother.

I could feel the boy's pain. It was stronger than anything I have ever felt. Then the sadness turned quickly to anger.

The boy screamed with the falling people, "NO!" The girl took a step back and then grabbed his hand.

"Come on!" She cried to him. He couldn't move, stunned in what just had happened. The girl had to resort to slapping him in the face. "We have to move!"

The boy nodded. "All right." They began to run. I followed behind. We ran to the other side of the walkway. That's when all three of us stopped. From the ceiling came a huge, diamond shape ship. Pulse Fal'Cie. The sight of it made my blood boil.

They finally took off their robes – the girl and the boy – so I got to get a good look of them. The girl was different then anything I saw. Her curly pink hair was held into two pig tails and I realized she had an accent. Weird.

The boy defiantly was the one I saw before, but I doubt he would recognize me. I would recognize that face anywhere. I was never into the fact of liking someone but something of this boy made me look at him longer than normal.

The boy looked at Fal'Cie. Obviously, he had never seen it before. Lucky him. The girl saw his face and grabbed her gun. She placed it in his hands.

"Here," she said and then she gave him a long hug while saying, "It's too much, isn't it?" She pulled back. "Face it later. Ciao!" She skipped away. Dropping the gun, the boy ran after her.

"Hey! Wait!" He called and caught up to her.

_. . . You said it made you happy when I smiled, didn't you? But I was afraid. I was always afraid. And you, I will never forget your eyes when we first met: how they always seemed to have the answer to questions none of knew or didn't want to know . . ._

Snow came back with Gadot on two air bikes. He was going to the Fal'Cie domain. I could see the two looking at him.

"That's him." The boy said.

The girl replied, "Didn't you have something to tell him?"

"Yeah."

"All right then!"

He looked at her confused. "But . . . I . . . " Wow, this kid is unbelievable. He's more talk than walk. Kind of like Snow.

The girl smiled. "I'll go with you."

"What?" Now he really looked surprised. Snow left before the girl could grab his attention. They ran quickly to the bikes, trying to hide themselves from Gadot.

He walked away and before they started the bike, the girl asked, "Say . . . you know how to fly this?"

"I do." They both looked at me, sort of stunned. I smiled and pulled off my robe. My hair fell down my back, a couple strands falling over my bright blue eyes. People say my eyes are kinda piercing.

I said, placing my hands on my hips, "Couldn't help overhearing but seems like you have a little beef with my big bro." The boy and girl look at each other. I shrugged. "I want to help. Besides, got nothing else to do so why not make myself useful." Both of their faces relax and they scooted back to let me sit at the controls. I started it up and it began to rise.

I turn my head around and winked. "Name's Dawn."

The girl waved. "I'm Vanille."

I look at the boy. "You got a name?"

"Hope," he muttered, not looking at my eyes. He carefully placed his hands around my bare waist.

I smiled. "Nice name." I started the bike.

"What are you guys _doing_?" All three of us turned to see Gadot running towards us, mad. I lifted the airbike and we flew up in the air. I looked back at Gadot.

"Hey, Gadot, tell everyone I say hi." I smiled at him like I do when I'm doing something I know I shouldn't.

He stopped running. "Dawn?" I saluted to him and we were off flying to Fal'Cie.

Vanille's finger pointed to it. "That way!"

Hope gasped. "No, no . . . If we go in there, that thing could - It could make us l'Cie. This is... I don't think I can – "

I turned around to him and looked at him straight in the eye for the first time. "You _can _do it. I know it." Hope looked at me and nodded. I then looked forward and accelerated.

_. . . The Pulse fal'Cie. It held our future – and our fate . . ._


	2. Chapter 2

Ch 2

Now, I would like to say we got into the fal'Cie without any trouble. But, then I would just be lying. I did know how to fly the air bike, but I didn't know how to land. And with all the ships – I got really pressured.

So, one minute we are flying through an opening and the next, I open my eyes to find all three of us on the ground, the bike smoking behind us. All of us stood up.

Vanille sighed. "Wow, that was close. Now, where is the . . . " We all look at the bike.

I rub the back of my head. "Oops."

She shrugged. "Well then . . . guess it's just us." She turned back to the two of us.

Hope grunted. "What did you expect? Even soldiers know not to go near the fal'Cie. You become a Pulse l'Cie, and you're finished."

I placed my hands on my hips. "What do you mean, 'finished'?

He looked at me. "Haven't you heard . . . Ugh, what were we thinking?"

I gave a laugh. "_We_? Last I checked you were the one who wanted to talk to my brother. Sorry we tried to help." All of us fell silent. I didn't mean to be as mean as I sounded but I just risked my life for the kid. So did Vanille. He could show some respect.

Vanille smiled. "Well, since we're here let's look around!" We began to walk around. Even though fal'Cie was bad and all, the place was pretty cool looking. I've never been in such a huge structure before.

Hope fell in between us. "Aren't you scared?" He asked us.

I shook my head and continued looking at the dome in the ceiling. It was massive!

Vanille replied, "Not so much."

He looked away. "You don't get it, do you?"

Vanille stopped and looked at Hope, a little serious. "Pulse fal'Cie and l'Cie are bad news. That's why Cocoon kicked them out. Live too close to the fal'Cie? One-way ticket to Pulse! That's the Purge in a nutshell." I couldn't help but give a small smile. Even I thought Vanille was a little nutty but apparently not. I have got to stop judging people. Vanille and I kept walking but Hope wouldn't move.

"If they catch us here, they'll purge us too. And then – "

"What's you problem?" I asked and turned to him.

He looked surprised. "What's my–? Pulse is hell on earth!" I was about to argue but Vanille walked to him and gave Hope a hug.

"We'll be ok," she said reassuring, "Calm down." Instead of accepting her hug, Hope shrugged her off.

"Get off me," He muttered to her and continued walking. Vanille looked a little hurt and I placed a hand on her shoulder. My eyes told her not to take it personally. Her mood lightened a bit and we continued walking behind Hope – walking to our fate.

We walked around for what seemed to be ages when we found ourselves in the middle of a four-way section. But it wasn't like we could walk any of the four ways. Big, purple creatures began limping towards. Even I admit they were a little creepy.

"What _are _they?" Hope asked, terrified.

I replied, taking out my daggers, "Cie'th! L'Cie who failed! This is what happens - when l'Cie don't complete the Focus the fal'Cie gave them."

Vanille was silent next to me but she had her weapon out, ready. Suddenly, Snow appeared out of no where and headbut one of them.

"Let's even the odds!" He said. Vanille, Hope and I nodded and with the help of Snow, we were able to take out the Cie'th fairly quickly. When we were finished, Hope sat on the ground tired. I don't think he's cut out for this.

Snow turned to the three of us. "How did you get in here? You've gotta leave." Then, he noticed me. "Dawn! What are you doing here?" Even though I knew he didn't know, it still hit me hard.

I replied through gritted teeth, "It's not important."

"Okay, listen. Find someplace to hide and keep quiet. Once I find Serah, we'll all leave together. You'll be home in time for dinner." He began to walk away.

"You–" Hope began to mutter but stopped.

Vanille called out, "Wait! Who's Serah?"

Snow stopped and smiled. "My wife. Future wife, that is. She's a Pulse l'Cie."

_Serah_, I thought. I didn't know.

Vanille placed her hands over her mouth. "Oh no."

He sighed. "She's here somewhere, along with that fal'Cie. I've gotta find her and set her free."

Hope's face tightened. "What's wrong with you? Why do you want to help a l'Cie? They are the enemy! How can you save a l'Cie and not . . . and not . . . " He held him head in his hands. "That's insane!"

"Probably. But I gotta do something, right? I'll be back!" He ran off.

I sighed. "Should we wait for him, and hitch a ride?"

Hope slammed his hand against the floor. "I'd rather go to Pulse! Why is this happening to me? When they found the fal'Cie the other day, we were just visiting Bodhum. But the army took us. Threw us on that train . . . And because of that guy, Mom is – And he wants to help a l'Cie?" I kneeled down and placed a light hand on his shoulder. I was about to say something but Snow showed up again.

"Hey again!" He said to us.

I groaned not looking at him. "Don't you have to be somewhere else right now?" He ignored me.

Vanille smiled. "Hey!" She kneeled down next to us. "Let's go with him."

Hope looked up. "What?"

She stared at him in the eyes. "You've got to talk to him, Hope. If you don't take this chance, you'll regret it forever." Hope looked from her and then to me, waiting for my response. I thought about our options.

I sighed and looked at Hope. "Vanille's right. Even with my skills, I could never get us out of here."

He nodded. "Okay." I helped him up and we turned to Snow.

He nodded. "Let's go." We ran behind him, dodging enemies and running though the multiple paths.

After some running, I saw Lightning and a man I have never seen. Lightning was cradling someone in her arms. It was Serah!

Snow saw this too. "Serah!" He yelled and ran to them.

Serah saw him. "Is that . . . my hero?"

Snow began to grab her. "Let's get you out of here."

"Hands off," Lightning demanded, "I'm taking her home."

Snow looked at her. "Sis-"

"I'm not your sister! You couldn't protect her. It's your fault she-" She stopped. Serah had placed her hand on Lightning's arm. She smiled.

"You can save us. Protect us all. Save . . . Cocoon." She closed her eyes.

Laightning shook her. "Save Cocoon? Serah? Was that your focus?" Snow took her hand.

"Anything – I'll do anything. Leave it to me – you'll see," He said reassuring, "I'll protect Cocoon. I'll save everyone!"

I saw Lightning mutter something. It was along the lines of "I'll make things right."

Serah smiled. "Thank you." And with that, she began to rise. Her body began to turn to crystal. Everyone gasped.

"Why is she turning to crystal?" Vanille asked.

Hope replied, "L'Cie who fulfill their Focus are transformed into crystal and gain eternal life."

"Just like the stories," I said.

"Serah," I whispered quietly so no one would hear, "Safe journey."

"Sweet dreams," Snow said to her.

Lightning stood up. "Sweet dreams? She's not sleeping! Serah's . . . She's-"

"She's alive!" He stated to all of us, "The legend! Remember the legend! L'Cie who fulfill their Focus turn to crystal and gain eternal life. It's the same with Serah! Eternal life! She's not dead! Serah's my bride-to-be. I promised to be hers forever! I don't care how many years I have to wait-"

BAM! Lightning slapped Snow hard on the face. I actually took a step back. Lightning didn't like Snow but she would never hurt him.

"It's over!" She yelled "Open your eyes and face reality!" We all fell silent.

_. . . Serah. . . Does becoming a l'Cie really mean losing everything? . . ._

Suddenly, the entire floor started to shake and I could hear a faint blast. Rocks started to fall from the ceiling.

Vanille screamed and grabbed onto a pole. "What's happening?"

Sazh shielded his head. "Must be a Sanctum strike. Bring down the Vestige and the fal'Cie with it!" The ground rumbled more. I tried to walk but I'm not good with unstable ground. I reached out my hand and Vanille took it, bringing me to the pole she was on.

I yelled over the blasts. "Aren't they taking it back to Pulse? That's what the Purge was, right?" The rumbling stopped so I was able let go of the pole. Vanille didn't want to so I offered for her to hold on to my arm. We walked to the others.

Sazh replied, "All they care about is getting from Pulse off Cocoon. Dead or alive, it's all the same."

Hope was still on the ground. "We can't stay here! They'll kill us!"

I looked at him. "Yeah, and if we go out there, they'll kill us. We don't have many options, Hope."

Snow took the crystal Serah's hand. "I'll be right back. Hold on." And he started to walk to an open door not far away.

Sazh looked at him. "Trench Coat. Where you going?"

Snow turned his head. "Date with the fal'Cie. Got some things to talk about."

Sazh lifted his arms ups. "What? You're going to ask _it _to help her? Are you out of your mind, kid? That thing wants to chew us up and spit us out!"

"Well, what do you want me to do?" He didn't reply. Lightning began walking through the door.

"Lightning?" I asked. She stayed quiet and continued walking. Vanille and I looked at each other and began walking behind her. If Lightning thinks this was a good idea, then we should follow. It wasn't like we had any other options. Everyone followed us. We walked through a long hallway until we came to a machine-type thing. I wasn't sure what it was but I guess it was the fal'Cie.

Hope looked at it. "So this is . . . the fal'Cie."

Snow ran up to it and yelled, "Serah's a crystal now. You gave her a Focus, and she did it! You got what you want! Now let her go!" He fell to hands and knees. "Please. Turn her back! I'll be your l'Cie instead!" My eyes widened and I took a step forward. I didn't want to lose Snow to the fal'Cie. He was all the family I had left.

Lightning walked past him, closer to the machine. "Fine, you go on begging. Like this thing gives a damn what we want!" She drew out her sword and began attacking it.

"Lightning!" Snow called out. He and I were thinking the same thing: don't touch it.

Lightning gasped for breath. "It's this thing's fault the Purge started and it's people who started dying. Serah told us to save Cocoon. That means this thing needs to die!" She hit it again but this time, it began to light up blinding all of us.

Hope shielded his eyes. "I can't see!"

Sazh did the same. "What the - " I turned to see Hope try to run for it. Vanille and I ran after him. We didn't have to go far since the fal'Cie trapped us in. No one was leaving.

Sazh yelled to Lightning, "Come on, now. You really think you can kill a fal'Cie?"

She replied, "I'm doing this for Serah!" I thought about it and I ran to Lightning's side, pulling out my daggers.

"Me too!" I yelled.

Sazh ran next to me. "I'm in. As long as you don't mind an amateur. I got these things. Might as well use 'em!"

Lightning nodded to him. "Thanks." The machine started and two arms came out, with a crystal in between them. I began taking the crystal out but the arms kept getting in my way. I flipped backwards to avoid getting killed and transformed my daggers into a bow midair. I shot the arm before I landed and it went down. The others helped and within time, we destroyed the machine. Or, so we thought.

I closed my eyes for a second and when I opened them again, we were floating. I looked frantically at the others. Everyone was as stunned as I was. I saw Hope not too far from my left. He saw me – panic in his eyes – and we tried to reach our hands out to each other.

Our fingers were touching when a light kicked on. I looked over to see a robotic man look at us. Tubes of some sort of light shot to us, one for each of us. I felt sudden pain on my left arm and I saw something appearing. A l'Cie mark.

We all yelled in pain. But then I saw something before my eyes. It was a series of fast pictures but I saw a necklace, Lightning, Snow, and Hope together. And my dead body.

And that was the last thing I remembered.


	3. Chapter 3

Ch 3

When I woke up again, it was to Snow screaming something. I groaned and stood up. My eyes then widened to see everything around us was white. It was all crystal!

I asked, "Is this . . . for real?" Beyond us were miles and miles of crystal. In the far off distance, I could see the fal'Cie sticking out of the crystal. I then realized everything was off the ceilings. We're in an empty cave.

Sazh looked around beside me. "This must be . . . Lake Bresha?" He looked up. "I guess we fell from up there. The lake turned to crystal? Help me out here. Did the fal'Cie do this? How in the world did we end up here?" He looked at all of us, wanting an answer. I had one but it was too crazy of an idea. His eyes fell on Lightning. She always seemed to have an answer.

She looked at him. "How should I know?"

Vanille saw all of us were here and was a little excited. "We're alive! But how?"

"Serah!" Snow said excitedly, "No one survives a fall from that high! Not without a miracle. Serah saved us!

Lightning almost believed it. "Serah. Listen . . . It's all your fault – she – " Suddenly, a Cie'th appeared behind her. It tried to attack her but Snow stopped it. With magic. When he did, a l'Cie mark glowed on his arm. The Cie'th went down and all of us looked at Snow stunned.

He stared at his hands. "What did I . . . just do?"

Hope replied back frantically, "You used magic. You used the power of l'Cie. The fal'Cie cursed us. We're l'Cie now." More Cie'th started to surround us. Gosh, do these things ever, I don't know, run out?

Lightning took out her sword. "Right."

I sighed and took out my daggers. "Well, now that we got it, might as well use it." All of quickly take out the Cie'th. I don't remember it being so easy. I feel like a burst of energy came over me.

When we were alone again, Snow looked at his brand. "So we really are l'Cie."

I looked at the back of my left arm. Now I understood why it hurt so bad. I had a brand there too. It didn't look exactly like Snow's but close enough.

I sighed. "Looks like it."

Snow turned to Vanille. "You too?"

She nodded and lifted up her skirt, exposing a mark on her thigh. "Yup. Right here?"

Snow looked kind of weirded out from that. "Okay."

Hope suddenly fell to his knees. "Why me?" He then looked at Lightning. "I don't even know you! But you have to go and attack that thing. Just leave me alone!" He then looked at Snow and his face tightened. "It's your fault, it's your fault my – You could've – all this is yours and Serah's fault!" I acted before Snow could. He was about to strangle Hope but I stepped between them, dagger out, and held it to Snow's throat.

"One more step and I won't stop here," I said, looking straight into his eyes. I promised myself I would look after Hope. Now, I'm going to keep my promise. Snow took a step back. I turned around and kneeled down in front of Hope. He was still covering his face.

I placed a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, you're ok." He looked at me.

Vanille kneeled down next to me. "Everything's going to be alright. You'll see. Come on!" She pulled him up to his knees. "Off we go!" She dragged him down a path.

Snow looked at me, wanting to say something, but I ran to catch up with Vanille. I didn't want to talk to Snow at that moment.

We all stopped a little down the path. None of us knew exactly what to do now, not even Lightning.

She said, "Okay if we don't know our Focus, how do we complete it?"

Vanille looked down. "I think . . . I saw it."

"Saw what?"

Sazh sighed. "That is how a Focus comes down, people. The fal'Cie? They don't spell it out with clear-cut instructions. All you get is a hazy glimpse." We all gave him a look. How did he know so much about this stuff? Sazh saw our looks and added, "Well, that's what they say. You know, legends and all."

Lightning looked at Hope. "Did you see anything?"

Hope thought about it. "I uh – I just . . . It's all kind of foggy, but . . . I saw this big – I mean towering – " He couldn't go on.

She looked at me. "How about you, Dawn?"

I didn't look at her. "Same idea," I muttered.

Sazh lifted his hands. "W-wait a minute. Hold on. Did we all have the same dream?"

Lightning and Snow said together, "Ragnarok." My head jerked up. None of this was part of my dream. My thoughts came back to my dead body. What the hell was my Focus? I pretended to have the same vision. At least they are explaining it. Then I wouldn't have to guess at it.

Sazh calmed down. "So, we all saw the same dream. We all heard that same voice."

Hope blurted, "You mean that was our Focus? But how are we supposed to know what to do from that?"

Vanille looked at us. "That's the tricky part. The dream's the only hint the fal'Cie gives us. Figuring out what to do with it – that's our job!"

"Okay, okay . . . We're Pulse l'Cie, right?" Sazh said, "Enemies of Cocoon! So, does that mean that our Focus is – Are we supposed to – "

"Save her. Our Focus is to protect Cocoon." We all stared at Snow. He hadn't spoken in a while and I sort of forgot he was there.

I placed my hands on my hips. "Really? Okay, and why's that?"

He replied, "Serah told us. Let's do it. We're all in this together. I'm gonna look for Serah. She ought to be nearby." He began to run away.

Vanille chased after him, dragging my hand with her. "We'll come too!"

Sazh shook his head. "That boy can't sit still!"

Hope muttered to himself, "Really . . . "

"We fight it!" Snow stopped and turned to us. "Ragnarok! That's the reason we're l'Cie! To stop it – to keep Cocoon safe!"

Sazh rolled his eyes. "Yeah, why don't you give us one reason to believe that? One reason."

He looked over the distance. "Serah. She said to protect Cocoon and then she turned to crystal. That's the proof right there. She completed her Focus! That means ours is to save Cocoon. Serah's fal'Cie was the same as ours. Our Focus has got to be the same. We were chosen to be guardians, to defeat Ragnarok! It makes sense!"

"The hell it does! You're grasping at straws, son! Pulse fal'Cie are Cocoon's enemies. We just got recruited by one of them. If I were a betting man . . . I'd put us on the other side." He looked away.

Snow walked up to him. "Then, Serah's an enemy, too? Well I don't buy it! We have the power to save Cocoon. If we work together and carry out our Focus – "

Lightning drew her blade and placed it against Snow's neck. "Our Focus? The fal'Cie took Serah from us, and you want to help it? Whose side are you on?"

At that moment, PSICOM soldiers appeared out of nowhere. "Freeze! Place your hands behind your heads!" We all did though Lightning took a step to the right before she dropped her sword. I realized what she was doing and cracked a small smile. She stared at me and I nodded slightly.

The captain said to us, "You fall off the Purge train?"

Lightning closed her eyes. "Maybe."

He turned to her, his back facing me. "Are you talking back to me?" Lightning instead looked at me. I ran and jumped, twisting my legs around the captain's neck.

"Nice gun," I muttered and I twisted so the captain shot unwillingly at some of the other shoulders. Lightning got her sword as I took one last crack at the guy's neck. I then ran to her side, my bow in my hands.

"Just like old times," I whispered and Lightning can't help but crack the smallest of smiles. We took out all the soldiers without breaking a sweat. We finished and placed our weapons back.

Sazh looked at their dead bodies. "I though they'd be tougher than that. These guys are PSICOM, yeah? Supposed to be the cream-of-the-crop."

Snow replied, "Yeah, but PSICOM's an anti-Pulse task force. Haven't fought a way in centuries. Bunch of rookie troops swinging around overpriced toys."

He turned to Snow. "So, from what you're telling me, it sounds like a regular old soldier . . . " He glanced at Lightning, "Has got more training than special forces."

I walked closer to him. "Nothing for us l'Cie to be afraid of."

Lightning shot a look at me. "Cut the crap. Their grunts might be green, but PSICOM's elites are cold-blooded beasts. They hit the field and it's game over." I looked at her than away. Didn't feel like arguing with her.

Vanille covered her mouth. "Oh-oh! Then let's run away! Ciao!" She ran off.

Sahz called out, "Hey, wait!" He shook his head. "What's a man to do?" We continued walking. Vanille was trying to say encouraging words to Hope but he tried not to listen. I walked a little behind them, for once not getting into their conversation.

For once, I kind of felt like this was my fault. I was the one who brought Vanille and Hope into this mess. I promised myself I would get them out.

Sazh sighed behind me. "It's not right. Why'd kids have to get dragged into this?"

Snow replied, "I'll keep the kids out of trouble."

_Doing a perfect job at that_, I thought to myself.

"Problem with that," He said to Snow, "Is you're one of them. Trying to take on the Pulse fal'Cie, that was our first mistake. Should have left it to the Sanctum. Why not? I mean, we've counted on the Sanctum's fal'Cie for food, water . . . everything we've needed since the time we were born."

I turned around to Sazh. "But you still helped us do it. Why's that? Gotta be something."

Sazh looked away. "There might've been. Not so sure anymore." I sighed and continued walking. My hand came up to my pendant around my neck. I always keep it with me. It is the only thing I had left of my parents – my real parents. In case I never mentioned it, Snow wasn't my real brother, though he acted like one.

_A purpose . . . what is my purpose?_ I thought to myself. Then my eyes fell upon Hope. He seemed so worried and his eyes caught mine. I faked a small smile. It seemed to make his mood lighter. That's when I realized: Hope was my purpose.

A couple minutes later, we came upon a pile of crystal, with Serah in the middle.

"Serah," Lightning whispered next to me. Snow ran past us and fell in front of her.

"Serah! Serah! I'll get you out of there!" He grabbed a piece of a ship and began hitting the crystals underneath Serah.

Vanille kneeled next to him. "I'll help you!"

"Thanks!"

Sazh also got down and tried to help pull out Serah. Hope and I stayed back. Neither of us knew whether we should help or if there was a point to it. Lightning just stared at Serah for a minute and then began to walk away.

Snow saw her. "Lightning? You're just gonna leave here?"

Without turning, she replied, "PSICOM will be here soon. If they find us, we're all dead. You think Serah would want that? You think you know how she feels?"

Snow stood up and walked to her. "If I leave her, then I'll never know. We'll be fine. I can handle anything they throw us. No one will die. I'll protect Serah. And Cocoon!"

Lightning turned around and punched Snow in the face. "Does she look protected to you?"

He stood his ground. "I can save her!"

She punched him again. "What can you possible do?"

Sazh stopped digging and looked at the two of them. "You two are hopeless. You just can't admit it. You want to stay as much as he does." Lightning looked at him but then turned away. Sazh began to walk away too, along with Vanille.

"You're leaving?" Snow asked them.

Sazh shrugged. "We want to help Serah too. But without tools we could be digging for days."

I looked above. "The army's on our trail. For now, we've got to keep moving."

"So I just abandon her, and save myself?"

Lightning turned to him. "What about your Focus? What happened to banding together and saving the world? Isn't that what you promised? Now you want to forget it all and die right here? Snow? You're nothing but talk." She began to walk away but Snow's words stop her.

"Lightning! I'll do whatever it takes. I'll finish this Focus and keep Serah safe. That's my promise."

"Great job so far," she mumbled to herself and walked away.

I looked at Snow. He sighed and smiled. "Stay out of trouble."

I nodded. "You too." Sazh and I walked towards Lightning.

"Get going," He said to Vanille and Hope, "Later." Vanille walked towards us but Hope didn't move. I stopped, wondering if he would need back up. I couldn't hear the conversation but Hope walked past me disappointed.

"I'm guessing you haven't talked to him yet," I said to him. He didn't reply but kept walking.

I sighed and said to myself, "Yep, this is going to be fun."

After what seemed forever of walking, all of us hid to see army ranks form below a cliff.

Sazh said, "They must hunting down Purge survivors."

I groaned and flipped over so I was leaning on my back. "Great. Just what we needed now."

Vanille sighed. "I hope everyone made it out okay."

He nodded. "So do I. But nowhere is safe for them now." He stood up. "Damn it! Just 'cause they shared a neighborhood with a fal'Cie . . . They get treated like Pulse-tainted rats."

I covered my eyes with my arms. "Yeah, now we're the real rats. Doing what the fal'Cie wants and everyone fearing us. Just what people need now: a reason to have panic."

Vanille looked down. "People really hate Pulse, don't they?"

I uncovered my eyes and sat up. "Not _hate_. More like _fear_."

Sazh nodded. "Tens of millions of people all scared of Pulse boogeymen. They'd be shaking in their beds every night if they knew that l'Cie like us were around."

"They Purged that entire town!" She gasped.

He shook his head. "It's crazy, I know. But the Sanctum fal'Cie did nothing to stop it. Up until now, Eden's always stepped in to correct their errors in judgment. Guess humans aren't worth the effort. Figure they'll let us just kill each other off."

"L'Cie are not human," Hope muttered.

Vanille grabbed his wrist. "Listen, you, that's enough!" But then she let go. "We're still alive. That's something." The ground shook again and I stood up to see some vehicles fly out.

Lightning stared at them. "They're sealing off the area. They're trying to trap stragglers. We've go to get moving before we're caught in the net." We all began to run though the complicated paths of the crystal lake.

Vanille gasped as she looked around. "Whoa. This whole place is crystal!"

Sazh crossed his arms. "I wonder what it would be like. To become a crystal, I mean."

I looked at him. "You're gonna complete your Focus?"

He shrugged. "Maybe. If I knew what it was. I probably don't want to know." He continued walking.

I placed a hand over my brand and mumbled, "I know how you feel."

Vanille turned to Lightning. "Hey, Lightning. Did Serah say anything to you about her Focus?"

She didn't look up. "Nothing."

Vanille saw her face. "Oh, you know what? She probably didn't want to worry you."

"Or she just didn't think she could trust me." We all fell silent as we walked to this ruin-type place. It seemed like it had been here for ages but when everything fell, it seemed to ruin the place more.

We walked through it, dodging elites and soldiers until we came upon a huge room. It was surrounded by orange crystals - which was once fire.

"Wow!" Vanille said and ran ahead.

"Stay close," Lightning warned.

She turned back. "I want to look around." Suddenly, a monster appeared out of nowhere. Vanille screamed and ran towards us.

I sighed and pulled out my daggers. "Is it too much to ask for a little break now and then?" We all took out the monster pretty easily now that we had our magic abilities and all.

When we all stopped to catch our breaths, Vanille noticed something up ahead. She pointed.

"Check it out!" It was some kind of ship.

Sazh looked at the rest of us. "Come in. Hop to it, let's go." We all ran to the ship. It seemed to be in pretty good condition.

"This will make things easier."

I sighed. "Yeah, knowing our luck, it's probably missing an engine."

She turned to me and placed her hands on her hips. "You shouldn't be so negative."

Sazh walked past her. "And you shouldn't get your hopes up." I laughed a little and grabbed Vanille's wrist. She cracked a smile and we all made our way into the ship and then we were off. Again.


	4. Chapter 4

At this point, it will be a miracle of we ever land correctly. I opened my eyes to fid myself on top of Hope, his arms around me. I guess he tried to protect me from the crash or something. I moved his arms off and kneeled next to him. I shook him though I felt not too together myself.

"Hope," I whispered, "Hope, wake up." I then heard a growl. I looked over to see some elites staring at me. I stood up and took out my daggers. I saw Lightning get up and in a second, she's at my side. We begin to take out elites. I heard Vanille and Sazh wake up and they helped us finished the final few.

When we finished, I had to sit down for everything to stop spinning. "Glad that's over," I said.

Sazh look deep breaths. "Man, I'm beat."

Lightning began to walk.

I groaned and leaned back on my hands. "What, no break?" Lightning turned around and walked to me. She held out her hand and I got up.

"They're tracking us," she said.

Sazh sighed. "We know that. We know that, but we aren't soldiers. We don't have your kind of stamina."

"You've got enough to complain," She said and continued walking. I turned to them. I didn't know what to say so I decided to stick with Lightning. Know her best of all. We got each other's back. I walked up next to her. She looked at me and we both nodded. We had only walked a couple yards when we could hear Hope panting keep up with us. We stopped and turned around.

"Just you?" I asked.

He replied, "For now, I guess. Should we wait?" He turned his head the way he came.

Lightning shook her head. "They'll catch up. Eventually."

Hope looked ahead. "Can we get through this way, you think? You . . . know where you're going, right?"

She began to walk. "I've been here on missions before."

"Missions? Nothing to do with the Purge, though?"

"The Purge is PSICOM's baby. Our military is split into two arms. The Public Security and Intelligence Command, known as PSICOM and the Guardian Corps. I was Guardian Corps, Bodhum Security Regiment." I began to walk, too.

Hope caught up. "Wait, but I don't get it. If you're not PSICOM, then why did you board the train?"

"For Serah," was all she said. I didn't say anything; I didn't want to.

"How about you . . . soldier girl?" I realized he was talking to me.

I stopped and turned to him. "You think . . . " I shook my head. "Sorry to disappoint but I'm no soldier."

"Then, what are you?" He asked.

"A l'Cie, I guess. That's all that matters now." I turned around and continued walking. I wasn't trying to be vague but I do hate it when people ask me that question.

"If you're not a soldier, how are you so good at fighting?" Hope walked beside me.

My eyes fell to the ground. "Living on your own, you learn how to fight – how to look after yourself. Thought I would be a soldier, like Lightning, if . . . " I looked away. Hope looked at Lightning.

"So, you got on that train so you could save your sister? That's crazy. I could never do something like that."

Lightning stopped walking. "It's not a question of can or can't. There are some things in life you just do."

"Easy for you to say," he muttered but then he realized she had climbed an entire ledge, me half way. "Lightning!" But she was gone.

Hope sat on a rock, sad. I thought about it and I jumped back down. I sat on the ground across from him.

"What are you doing?" He asked, "You're getting left behind."

I shrugged. "Better to let one get ahead then to have one fall behind. I am going to sit here until you are ready to move ahead. I don't care how long."

Hope smiled. "Thank you, Dawn."

I smiled. "You're welcome." I looked at him. "You know, I'm not as cold-hearted as you think I am."

He looked away. "I never said you were."

"I know . . . but I felt like I needed to say it. By the way, Hope," He looked at me. "I'm sorry about your mom. I can tell you were very close to her. And I promise, I will help in any way you feel like it is right to avenge her death. I know what it feels like to lose someone you love." Before he could say anything, Sazh and Vanille began running to us.

Since I didn't want Hope to ask me, I ran up the ledge quickly, using my gravity bracelet. I stood on the edge of the cliff until Vanille and Sazh got to him. I then turned around and began my pursuit after Lightning.

I found her a couple minutes later. "Lightning!" I called out. She stopped and turned around.

"Dawn?" She asked, "What are you doing here? Where's Hope?"

"Back with Vanille and Sazh. They are on their way." She nodded and we continued walking. Around me, Lightning is a different person. She isn't as tough and she actual makes fun jokes.

She looked at me. "What's with you? You surprised me when you tagged along, leaving behind Snow. What's between you and him?"

I shook my head. "Nothing. I just took the option that would give me a lesser chance of getting killed." I looked at her. "You taught me that."

She smiled and we stopped at a fork path. Better to wait now then to lose everyone later. We could hear them a couple minutes later.

"Hey," Sazh called, "Welcome to the party!"

"You missed us?" Vanille smiled. I smiled back but Lightning walked away.

Sazh sighed. "Would it kill her to smile?"

I shrugged. "Maybe." We walked behind her though the junkyard.

I rubbed my arms together and walked closer to Hope. The junkyard creeps me out a little. It's like a painful reminder of the hatred between Cocoon and Pulse.

Hope looked at me. "You . . . ok?"

I turned to him. "Yeah. Fine. Um, I'll go scout ahead." I ran to Lightning and tried to catch my breath. She stopped in front of a machine. I took a close look at it. It seemed to be something from Pulse since it seemed to be a monster.

"What is that?" I asked Lightning.

"Pulse armament," She replied.

Sazh walked up to us. "And that's bad for us, isn't it?"

"You have eyes, don't you?" At that moment, the monster woke up. It stared at us with many sharp blades.

_Really?_ I thought. I can't get a break these days. We battled the monster but after a couple minutes, the floor caved in and we fell into a pit. I fell hard on my hip but I bit my tongue and pushed myself up.

Sazh stood up. "Thought we were goners. You all right?"

Vanille replied, "I think so." He looked at me and I nodded. But I wasn't paying attention.

"Incoming!" I yelled as the monster started moving again. I decided for once to actually use magic. It felt weird but also natural. I was pretty good with earth-type spells. Finally, it went down for good.

Sazh sighed. "Pulse is crawling with things like that, isn't it?"

Lightning replied, "Got me. Not even the Corps has access to intel on Pulse. Soldiers in the field fight blind."

"Yeah, I noticed that. But don't you need to know exactly what you're up against?"  
She looked away. "Target's a target."

"You like to keep it simple, don't you?"  
"I stick to my goal."  
Hope looked at her. "As long as you have a goal, you can fight?"

I replied, walking next to him, "You can stay alive."

I sat on the ground, looking at my reflection through one of my daggers. I tried to not be noticeable but I tried to listen to Sazh and Lightning from above.

Sazh looked at the distance. "Not much of a future for us, huh?"

Lightning crossed her arms. "Hard to picture a happy ending."

"We don't even know where to go."

"I do," She looked up at the sky. "There." I looked up. High above us was Eden, the Sanctum fal'Cie. I don't know what Lightning was planning but I was in for it.

Sazh looked up too. "Eden? The Sanctum's seat of power. Oh, that's a great idea. Just charge right in there. Give 'em a taste of l'Cie terror!" She began to walk away. "You're serious."

I stood up. "Keep running – it's die or turn Cie'th," I said as I jumped up to where they were, "There's no place for l'Cie to hide. No . . . They want a fight? Let's take it to Sanctum's door!" I made a fist.

Sazh yelled, "This isn't a game, Dawn!"

Lightning pushed me aside and faced Sazh. "No. That's for damn sure. It started with Serah. The fal'Cie took her. Now we're l'Cie too. And the Sanctum's hunting us, enemies of the state. But who's pulling their strings? A fal'Cie. Eden. Cocoon's Sustainer and Guiding Light. It probably ordered the Purge, too. Pulse and Sanctum fal'Cie? They're all the same. And we're all the same to them: expendable. I'm not dying a fal'Cie slave." I nodded in agreement.

"So? What are you gonna do?"

Lightning and I said it at the same time, "Destroy it."

Sazh eyes widened. "Just the two of you? What, are you crazy? Say, you pull it off . . . What's that going to get you? Satisfaction? Something happens to Eden, it's lights out Cocoon! You _want_ that. You two are Pulse l'Cie now, so you just want to snuff out Cocoon!"

"No!" Vanille cried, "What about Serah? She said to save Cocoon! It might even be our Focus to make sure Cocoon stays – "

"Our Focus doesn't matter," Lightning cut in, "I don't take orders from fal'Cie. How I live is up to me."

Sazh crossed his arms. "Don't you mean how you die?"

Lightning and I turned around. I stared at him. "Think like that, and it's already over. Better to pick your path and keep moving. We're after Sanctum, not out to destroy the world. If it did come to that, wonder if our 'hero' would try to stop us?"

He replied, "You want to fight Snow? Just like that, and you're enemies?"

I closed my eyes, my mouth in a frown. "Next time we meet, we might be." I never noticed it but after I found out the truth behind Snow's intentions of the Purge, something inside me didn't make me love him anymore. It made me hate him! I stormed away, with Lightning at my heels. I was going to Eden. I was going with someone I trust.

_. . . When the fear sank in, it tore us all apart. Dawn was suffering. Reaching out to us. But none of us saw it . . ._

I heard Hope behind us. "Snow deserves it!"

_. . . If only I'd been stronger, none of this would ever happened. If I'd been braver, maybe I could have been that shoulder Dawn so desperately needed . . ._

"Wait for me!" I heard Hope shout to us. We turned around and looked at him. "I'm going with you."

Lightning looked down on him. "We can't babysit you anymore."

Hope demanded, "I can fight. I'm not afraid." Suddenly soldiers found us.

Lightning sighed. "Great, a PSICOM hit squad." We took down the soldiers. I noticed Hope. He fought with determination, not the fear he had before.

When the last soldier fell, I turned my head to Hope. "Not bad."

His eyes widened. "Really? Thanks." He turned around. "There will be more soldiers. We should keep moving." He saw my face. "Dawn? Are you worried about the others? I'm sure they got away okay." I looked away.

"So can you," Lightning said, walking towards him. "If you leave now. With us, it'll be fight after fight. I don't know how it'll end."

I muttered, "It's anybody's guess."

He looked at both of us. "I know that. But – I need to be stronger. Lightning?"

"Call me Light," she said.

"What's the plan from here?" Lightning thought about it and her eyes looked at me. She knew I knew this area really well.

I pointed towards an area more lightly lit than anywhere else. "Through the Gapra Whitewood to Palumpolum. We'll find transport to Eden."

Hope looked to where I was pointing. "I live in Palumpolum. I can show you all the shortcuts." He began to run ahead of us.

"No side trips," Lightning stated.

Hope stopped running and looked down. "No need. I don't think l'Cie are welcome at home."

I walked past him. "At least you have a home."

We stopped to hear soldiers ahead of us. They were talking over . . . something. Maybe another Pulse monster thing.

The officer asked, "Any trace of the l'Cie?"

A soldier shook his head. "Nothing. No sign it's been activated." Suddenly, I made a tiny rock fall.

"Who's there?" We all jumped and fought the soldiers. At this point, it has become such a habit that I don't care anymore. I don't care about a lot of things.

Hope looked at the bodies. "What was PSICOM doing here?"

I shrugged and looked at the machine. "Probably thought we'd try and use a Pulse machine to escape."

"Maybe we should try it. What does this do?" He started to look around the machine.

Lightning ran up to us. "Hey, you're gonna hurt yourself! Don't touch that!"

I placed a hand on her arm. "Wait. What if it works?"

"Leave it!" Hope didn't listen and got in. "I told you to leave it." The machine started to move forward.

Hope yelled, "Stop! Stop already!" It did and he took full control over it. "I think I got it. Light! Dawn! I think I can work this." I smiled a little and jumped onto the machine. I sat behind Hope and placed my arms around his waist. He seemed stunned but then, I could feel his body relax. I could feel my body relax too.

He began to work the machine, pushing past waves of monsters. Lightning ran behind us.

Soon, we came to a ledge that we didn't see in time. The machine began to fall and I pulled the two of us out of being crushed. We both fell to the ground.

Lightning walked by us. "Nice landing. Let's get moving." I stood up but Hope wasn't as fast as me.

"Just need a minute," he said, "Still a bit too winded."

"You're too soft." I try to hide a smile. We began to walk. Hope got to his feet. "Wait up!" He called and ran to us. I tried flexing my left arm. It was pretty bruised but my brand – I don't know why but it felt like it was burning. I tried to ignore it but I felt like there was going to be a point where I couldn't hide it anymore.

While walking, I sort of forgot about Hope. I forgot he was behind us. Suddenly, Lightning turned around. "This isn't working." Hope and I looked at her confused.

She continued, "I mean, you're a liability. You'll just slow us down. I'm sorry but I can't protect you when – " She stopped suddenly and fell to her knee.

I stood next to Hope. "You can't just leave him here."

Hope yelled, "You've got to take me with you!"

"Enough!" She snapped, "The whole world is against us! I can barely keep us alive. Let alone some helpless kid!" She groaned. "I don't have time to baby you. You want to get tough? Do it on your own!" She yelled in pain and something came from her chest. It seemed to be a massive soldier.

Lightning stared at it. "This cannot be happening! Look out!" The thing aimed for Hope but I stood in front of him.

"You want him," I said to it, "You have to get through me." Lightning came to my side and all three of us attacked it. After a couple minutes, it seemed to become one with Lightning. That's when I realized what it was. It was an Eidlon. I'm fascinated by those things. I wondered if I would get one, or at least live long enough to see Hope's. Maybe I can help him with his.

I looked at Lightning. "Lightning. Your brand looks different." I quickly looked at her brand.

Hope walked next to me. "Was that an Eidlon? Like l'Cie can summon?"

Lightning turned around. "Magic and mumbo-jumbo. I must've hit my head on that Purge train."

Hope looked at her. "Am I really in your way?" She didn't answer but continued to walk. I looked at Hope – not sure what to do.

He continued, "I'll do better! I'll try harder, I'll – "

"Hope." He stopped. Lightning turned her head. "We'll toughen you up. I'm sorry about before." She continued walking, Hope and I behind her. Everything seemed calm until we ran into soldiers.

One cried, "L'Cie!" They circled us.

Lightning took out her sword. "Got my back?"

I took out my daggers. "Always!"

Hope took out his Airwing. "Yeah!" Working together, it seemed really easy to take out the soldiers. I felt that with every battle, I got stronger.

We walked a little more until Hope couldn't walk anymore. She sighed. "We'll stop here."

Hope sat down. "Sorry."

"Don't sweat it. I'll look around. You rest up." I began to follow Lightning but she stopped me.

Placing a hand on my shoulder, she said, "You too. Every person needs some rest at one point." I nodded and she walked away. I sat down next to Hope against a rock.

"Mind if I sit here?" I asked him.

He shook his head. "No. Go ahead." I leaned my head back. I closed my eyes but still was awake. I could hear Hope asleep next to me, his head on my shoulder. I then heard Lightning coming back so I decided to pretend to be asleep.

She sat down across from us. I could hear Hope sigh. "Mom?"

Lightning managed out a little laugh. "Not by a long shot."


End file.
